HAMILTON – The Colgate women’s ice hockey team continues to impress this season as the Raiders hold on to the No. 5 ranking in the USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll after its weekend sweep of Mercyhurst.
Colgate’s ranked No. 5 in the nation in back-to-back weeks for the first time since Nov. 7 and 14 of last season. The Raiders received 93 points in this week’s USCHO Poll and 124 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, the most the Raiders have received in either poll in program history after besting last week’s 88 and 113 points, respectivley.
The Raiders are one of four ECAC Hockey teams ranked in the top five as Clarkson remains No. 2 in the nation, St. Lawrence fell to No. 7/8 and Cornell is back in the rankings at No. 9.
Colgate women’s ice hockey is off to its best start in program history with a 6-0-0 mark and is one of just two unblemished teams left in the top 10 that have begun play. The Raiders’ six-game winning streak is also good for the second longest in program history, just one shy of tying the record set last season.
The Raiders continue to average four goals per game as the Raiders won Friday night in overtime, 4-3, and Saturday afternoon, 4-1, against the Lakers. Jessie Eldridge (Barrie, Ontario) provided the excitement Friday night as she scored the game-winning goal with roughly 0.1 seconds remaining in overtime to beat the buzzer and give the Raiders a 4-3 win.
Eldridge leads the team with six goals and 10 points, and is the only Raider to record a point in all six games this season. She is second in the league with six goals while her 10 points rank third.
Shelby Perry (Elginburg, Ontario) and Malia Schneider (Millarville, Alberta) have five-game point streaks after points in both games against Mercyhurst. Perry is tied for the league lead with seven assists this season while Shae Labbe (Calgary, Alberta) joins them in a three-way tie for seventh in points with seven.
The Raiders hit the road for the first time during the 2017-18 season this weekend with a trip to the North Country to take on No. 2 Clarkson on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by No. 7 St. Lawrence on Saturday at 3 p.m.
